Railway signal system.



A. w. REI-N HARDT.

RAILWAY SIGNAL SYSTEM. APPLICATlON EILED AUG.2I. 1915.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

. 4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

A. W. REINHARDT.

RAILWAY SIGNAL SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED -AuG.2I. 1915.

1 1 92,933 'Patented Aug. 1,1916. I

1 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. W. REINHARDT.

RAILWAY -smNAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION flLED AUG.2I, 1915.

Patented Auga 1', v1916.

4'sHEETs-SHEEI 4.

ADAM WILLIAM REINIIADT, or BETIIEL, oHIo.

RAILWAY SIGNAL sYsTni/I'.

Application filed August 21, 1915.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, ADAM l/VILLIAM REIN- IIARDT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bethel, in the county of Clermount and State of Ohio, have invented new andl useful Improvements in Railway Signal Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to railway signals and more particularly to that class of signals operated by electricity.

The object of my invention is to overcome as far as possible collisions on railways by substituting an automatic signal means for the memory of man. I eect this object by means of the mechanism hereinafter described and appropriately illustrated by means of drawings in lwhich like reference characters represent like parts in all'drawings.

Figure 1 is a plan viewA of a portion of the rails of a railway track having two contact rails, or, in other words, a double contact rail between the two ordinary rails. Fig. 2 is a plan view of portionv of the rails of a railway track having two series of contact rails, one series running in one direction and the other in van opposite direction,

the one series crossing the other at a halfway point from end to end of the track. The two series here are contracted endwise. Fig. 3 is a plan view of an ordinary railway siding and a portion of the two rails of the railway with which it connects at either end by means of ordinary railway switches. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the annunciator showing the several keys thereof together with their connections. Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line zr-w Fig. 4:. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the keys of the annunciator in its detached form. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of one of the several contact shoes and means employed to connect it with the running gear of the railway car. Fig. 8 is a wiring diagram showing the manner in which-the several parts of'- my invention are connected together.` Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a railway car in outline, showing the manner in which my invention is connected thereto. Fig. 10 is a vertical section taken the long way of the car ofl that 'portion of my invention directly connected with the running gear of the car with certain parts in elevation. Fig. 11 is a front elevation of that portion of my invention directly connected with the running Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. l16,597.

lgear of the car with all obstructing parts of the car removed, showing also in cross-sec- In all figures, 1, 2, 3, ll, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are contact rails positioned between the ordinary rails of the railway track. It is to be ,noticed in Fig. 1 that two rails only are pshown. The purpose here is to give a better idea of the lengthof these contact rails which is about 800 feet.- InF ig. 2, it is to be noted there are a double series of contact rails which cross each other at a middle point, one series being numbered as above from left to right and the other series being numberedf'rom right to left. The reason for all this will best appear further on in this specification.

10 and 11vare the two ordinary rails of the railway track.

12 and 13 are the two ordinary rails of an ordinary siding, and 14C and 15 are the ordinary switches located the one at one end and the other at the other end of said siding.

1 A is the body of the railway car in out- B is one of the stringers under the body of the car, which stringers connect one set of trucks with another.

C and D are the two motors employed on inter urban cars.

E and F are two of several cross-ties.

G is the annunciator which is attached to the body of the car directly in front of the motorman or engineer as the case may be by means ofthe screws 49, 50, 51 and 52.

. 16 is the battery.

- 17 is the bell and clapper.

'18 is a wire connecting the metal strip 23 with the bell 17 .l

A 19 and 20 are two of the nine bolts of the annunciator Gr, which bolts aline and contact with similar bolts of the indicator H, of which similar bolts the bolt 21 is one. It is to be noted here that the indicator with its several bolts as 21, its several keys as 66 and 67 as illustrated in Fig. 6 and its metal Patented Aug. 1,1916.

strip 23 is detachable from the annunciator G for the sake of convenience in making repairs.

22 is a metal strip which forms a part of each of the aforesaid keys and which, when a key is moved to the right, as the key for Hamilton connects the metal strip 23 with one or the other of the bolts as 19 and 20.

24 is a wire running from the bolt 19 and connecting with the bolt 27 electrically through the nut 25 and the washer 29.

31 is a bushing for the bolt 27.

.l and J are cross-beams underneath the body of the car having one end fitted into channel of the stringe-r B and the other end fitted into the channel of a similar stringer B on the other side of the car, which crossbeams are stationary and support a portion of my invention that is positioned underneath the body of the car. y

33 is a bolt electrically connecting bolt 27 with the L-shaped bracket 35, it also binds said bracket to the cross-beam K.

41 is a link having one of its ends joined to the L-shaped bracket 35 by means of the nut and belt 37 and the other end to the front portion 43 of the shoe L by means of the nut and bolt 39.

V26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 64', l, 36, 42, 38, 40 and 44 respectively are counterparts or duplicates of the parts last above described.

45 is insulating means separating from each other the two portions 43 and 44 of the shoe L.

46 is a screw adapted to bind together the aforesaid two portions of the shoe L.

47 is an insulating bushing.

48 is a recess adapted to counter-sink the head of the screw 46.

53, 54 and 55 are means adapted to bind detachably the indicator H to the annunciator Cf.

56 is the wire that leads from the bell 17 to the battery 16.

57 is an ordinary thumb clip adapted to clamp and support sheets of paper and to be hung up on the car wall.

58 is a small wood block.

59 is a strip of heavy Celluloid on one end of which is the word On and on the other end is the word OE 60 is a coiled spring.

61 and 62 are nuts. y

63 is a bolt. The block 58 'and the metal strip 22 are on opposite sides of the indicator H. rlhe spring 60 is adapted to yieldingly clamp the metal strip 22 to said indicator and at the same time enable it to climb upon the heads of the bolts, in said annunciator, as 19 and 20. 64 is one of several elliptical slots through which the bolts as 63 move back and forth. 64 is a metal strip connecting electrically several bolts as 34, by means of which strip a single wire 65 closes the circuit for any shoe. 66 and 67 are two of several keys belonging to'said indicator. At the right or left of said indicator and on a line with the several keys thereof are attached by any suitable means the names of places where there are sidings, such as (from bottom upward) Cincinnati, Hamilton, Middletown, Miamisburg, Franklin, Dayton, Tippecanoe, Troy, Piqua and Sidney. Stops go by numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.

68 and 69 are Z-shaped brackets.

70 is a backstop.

71 is a door.

72 and 7 3 are coiled springs.

74 and 75 are strips connecting the crossbeams K and K.

7 6 and 77 are strips connecting the crossbeams J and J.

Having thus described my invention in detail and by illustrations, l will now describe it as a working mechanism. rTaking for illustration the run up the Miami Valley from Cincinnati to Sidney, Chio, the track is first equipped with contact rails and sidings at the various intervening points as named above, and in leaving Cincinnati the cards bearing the aforesaid names are arranged on the indicator to read from the bottom upward in the exact order in which the places named occur on the road itself. Before leaving Cincinnati we will suppose an order is given to the engineer or motorman as the case may be to take the siding at Hamilton for train number 12 running in the opposite direction. rlfhe key for Hamilton is immediately after receiving the aforesaid order pushed to the right as shown on the indicator. By so doing the break in the electrical current in the indicator is thus closed, and the bell 17 would immediately begin to ring were it not for the fact that there is still another break in the electrical current in the shoe L, but so soon as the train reaches the contact rail l1ust before arriving at the Hamilton siding that one of the shoes adjusted for that contact rail mounts said rail, and, the last and only break in the current (except that in the bell) being thus closed, the bell immediately begins to ring, and the engineer or motorman knows at once that he had an order to take the siding at Hamilton, and in case this order had been forgotten, the one thing that causes so many collisions, the ringing of the bell reminds the engineer or motorman of that fact, and it is in this way that such terrible accidents are avoided. ln like manner any other key of the indicator can be set for any other siding.

In long runs, the double series of contact rails as illustrated in Fig. 2 can be repeated any number of times along the track for any length of run, a new set of cards being brought into use for each repetition. lt is to be noted that this signal system is` A by the several shoes themselves.

adapted to work as described above for trains running in either direction. Whenever there are stops to be made as well as sidings, the stop card is placed in the indicator along with the siding cards, and of course the contact rails have been placed accordingly, and in this way stops can be signaled just the same as sidings. In case of sleet or snow, what is left of either by the removing means attached to the front end of the car is raked off of the contact rail In case dust or snow accumulates on the several shoes or accompanying parts, or in case of needed repairs, the cross-beams K and K with all the parts depending therefrom can be detached sidewise from the car by means of the Z-shaped brackets 68 and 69 at any time and cleaned or exchanged for another setV of similar parts. One set of ends of each cross-beam fits against the backstop 70 on one side of the car, and the other set on the other side fits against the door 77. In detaching said parts for cleansing or repairing, the bolts as 27 and 28 working loose in the bushings 3l and 32 respectively and being equipped with springs 72 and 7 3 respectively, they yield to the pressure of the bolts as 33 and 34 and not only admit of an easy removal, replacement and readjustment of said detached parts, but also are self adjusting to said bolts as 33 and 34 alone and in this way prevent the possibility of a failure of the bell to ring at any time or place when it should. The several shoes as L, being loosely attached to the links as il and 42 by means of the bolts and nuts as 39 and 40, have a free and easy movement upward and downward as well as backward and forward, and it is for this reason that said shoes are adapted to mount said Contact rails in spite of the rapid movement of the car.

Having thus described my invention indetail, by illustrations and as a working mechanism, what I claim is 1. In a railway Signal system, a shoe having a forward and backward portion and any suitable electrical insulating means between them and any suitable electrically insulated means adapted to bind said portions firmly together'.

2. In a railway signal system and in combination, the running gear of a railway car; stringers connecting one set of trucks with the other thereof; a cross-beam frame work having bolts passing therethrough attached to said stringers; two-pole contact shoes attached by any suitable means to the bolts of said frame work; and contact rails.

3. In a railway signal system and in combination; the running gear of a railway car; stringers connecting one set of trucks with the other thereof; a cross-beam frame work having two rows of spring actuated bolts passing loosely therethrough attached to said stringers; another cross-beam frame work having two rows of bolts passing therethrough detachably attached to said stringers and positioned underneath said firstmentioned frame work, said row of bolts on the front side of said first-mentioned frame work aliningand contacting with said row of bolts on the front side of said last-mentioned frame work, said row of bolts on the rear side of said last-named frame work being connected by a universal metal strip and said row of bolts on the rear side of said first-mentioned frame work resting on said universal strip; two-pole contact shoes attached by any suitable means to said bolts of said last-mentioned frame work; and contact rails.

4. In a railway signal system and in combination; a railway car; stringers connecting the trucks thereof; an electrical battery; an electrical bell; wire connecting said bell to said battery; an indicator having bolts passingtherethrough, a metal strip running therealong and keys overlying said strip and adapted to move laterally thereon; an annunciator having bolts passing therethrough, said bolts alining and contacting with said bolts passing through said indicator; a cross-beam `frame work having spring actuated bolts passing loosely therethrough attached to said stringers; a wire connecting said bell with said strip running along said indicator; wires connecting said bolts passing through said annunciatorl with the front row of bolts passing through said frame work; a wire connecting said bell with one of said rear row of bolts passing through said frame Work; another cross-beam frame work having two rows of bolts passingtherethrough detachably attached to said stringers and positioned underneath said first-mentioned frame work, said row of bolts on the front side of said first-mentioned frame work alining and contacting with said row of bolts on the front side of said last-named frame work, said row of bolts on the rear side of said last-named frame work being connected by a universal metal strip and said row of bolts on the rear side of said irst-mentioned frame work resting on said universal strip; two-pole connecting shoes attached by any suitable means to said bolts of said last-mentioned frame work; and contact rails.

5. In a railway signal system, a double series of any suitable number of contact rails positioned between the ordinary rails of a railway track, one series beginning near one of said ordinary rails and running in one direction obliquely along and across the space between said ordinary rails to any suitable point along said track, and the other series beginning near the other ordinary rail and near the terminus of said rst mentioned series and running?,` therefrom in the opposite in testimony whereof have hereunto set direction obhquely along and across said my hand 1n presence of two subscribing Witspace between said ordinary rails to a point nesses.

near the beginning of said irst mentioned ADAM WLLAM REINHARDT. series, said series crossing each other near Witnesses:

the middle point oi:- the distance covered C. M. BEGHTEL,

along said track by said double series. J. VERNON SHEA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washingtonx D. C. 

